Things are looking bleak for North American fans of the Cadillac CT6 luxury sedan. We recently had a chance to talk to Cadillac President Steve Carlisle about the fate of the four-door, and asked the exec directly whether or not Cadillac had any plans to import the CT6 from China for sale here in the U.S. Unfortunately, Carlisle’s answer was an unequivocal “No.”
For those who may be out of the loop, importation of the CT6 from China was one of the last remaining solutions with regard to the the sedan’s continued sale here in the U.S., given stateside production of the CT6 is slated to in the very-near future. Another possible solution would be relocating production to another stateside plant, but unfortunately, Carlisle confirmed there are currently no plans to produce the CT6 at another U.S. plant for the North American market.
For reference, the CT6 is only sold in the U.S. and Canada here in North America, and is not sold in the Mexican market.
Cadillac’s parent company, General Motors, originally announced that the Cadillac CT6 would be discontinued in November of 2018. However, several executives, including Carlisle, backtracked on that original statement, later saying that the sedan would remain in production going forward.
Unfortunately, as we now know, that turned out not to be the case. As it stands now, Cadillac CT6 production is slated to end this year. Following confirmation that the CT6 would get the axe in January, Cadillac extended production a few weeks, and now, the CT6 is slated to end production in North America by mid-February.
The Cadillac CT6 is the luxury brand’s flagship sedan model. As such, Caddy will need to make do with just two sedans in its stable, namely the CT4 and CT5, following the discontinuation of the CT6, not to mention the XTS as well.
Subscribe to Cadillac Society for more Cadillac CT6 news and around-the-clock Cadillac news coverage.
Greg
No surprise.
Even if Cadillac dis import it, I don’t think they’d be able to offer the V8 engine, since they don’t offer or make it there. That would have made people unhappy too.
LLK
Escalade is the “flagship”. They sell a ton of them at huge a huge profit. Too bad they wasted all that time and money getting the CT6 right for a few months before killing it, but it’s in keeping with GM’s history I suppose. On the other side, if it means we get the C8 Corvette I’m good with it.
Alex Luft
Escalade is the flagship of the SUV line while CT6 is the flagship of the sedan line.
There will be something else above the CT5 in the sedan lineup… stay tuned.
LLK
Great to hear Alex! When can we expect to know more?
LLK
Alex, I just read an interview with Steve Carlisle and he said that the Escalade is the top of the Cadillac line, there are no plans to replace the CT6, and that ICE is dead going forward at Cadillac. I’d be interested in your comments.
Thanks,
Lew
LLK
Sorry, the piece is in Road & Track
Sheila R Wilson
Well it would be so nice to have the remaining CT6s sold at a much lower price, now that they will now longer be available here at the end of the year. Some of us still love them but, the price is pretty steep for a car that’s being discontinued..
THOMAS
No flagship! I hope they dropped the “Standard of the world “logo Cadillac has sunk to below luxury car standards in my opinion!! Cadillac can’t even come close to the new Mercedes S-Class- that is the standard of the world !!! Sorry, Cadillac it’s over!
Greg
The CT6 was never aimed at the S Class. The Mercedes base price was nearly double that of the CT6.
Philip M Dreyfuss III, USAF Ret
I am on my 2nd CT6. First was the 2016 CT6 Platinum, 2nd is a 2020 CT6 Premium Luxury. By dropping the large sedans you have sealed the end of the Cadillac. Hope you Executive fools are happy. Not everybody wants to drive a mini death trap.
patrick
I don’t want a CT6 or any Cadillac from china.
The Car Hound
patrick, I have a 2019 Platinum CT6 and it is a wonderful car. But, I definitely would not have purchased it if it were made in China.
In 2017 when I was in the market for a crossover Buick was on my short list. Yet, I refused to even look at the Chinese built Buick Envision. I purchased an American built crossover, an XT5.
GM has cut too many American jobs with out of the country production.
John Engelman
I was just told on Wednesday, in person, by an individual at Cadillac, who I cannot name, that there would definitely be a CT6 replacement………..
Greg
Escala?
Time frame?
Gary
Has-Been so called luxury brand riding the coattails of the Escalade and upmarket trim levels of Equinoxes and Traverses.
Gary
Now it comes more clearly into focus why JDN didn’t last long at GM. This is luxury brand management at its worse!
K B
I am in Philip’s camp. I surely do not want an SUV of any kind. The CT6 Blackwing was going to be my next car. A replacement for my 2007 STS NorthStar. Now I must re-evaluate. The CT4 and CT5 are not for me.
Greg
So why haven’t you bought a Blackwing? You can still order one. Or are you just blowing smoke?
The Car Hound
Greg, sorry to say that orders for the CT6 were cut off in December. K.B. if he is luck may find a dealer that has an unsold Blackwing that is still in the pipeline. In Phoenix the 12th largest metro area in the US only one dealer has any inbound Blackwings.
Greg
I stand corrected.
Greg
I stand corrected.
But if KB really was was planning to buy one he could have.
Greg
Hey KB:
I’m at my dealer right now. Brotherton Cadillac on Shoreline Washington. There are 2 Blackwing CT6s here. If you really wamt to buy one call them.
Greg
If everyone who is now claiming love and desire for the CT6 would actually buy one Cadillac wouldn’t drop it. I’m tired of reading posts of people saying there were GOING to buy one. It’s been on the market for 4 1/2 years. What stopped you?
Gary
Perhaps taking into consideration that before purchase, prospective buyers have various factors to consider:
-Finances
-CT6 was a first run model – any glitches and possible recalls
and so on…
Greg
The CT6 has been on the market over four years. I think any bugs have been worked out.
Finances I understand. But if that’s the case, and a person cannot afford a CT6, then they shouldn’t be posting on forums like this that they were planning on buying one and fiegning outrage and disappointment at its cancellation.
I’d love one, but I can’t do it. So I don’t pretend to be an offended potential customer.
Gary
It’s not whether they can afford but when.
Perhaps a person is looking to sell property next year and arrange their taxes and purchase of a new car subsequently. Or perhaps their current vehicle is operating well but 1 year from now they’re considering trading it in. People have many factors and moving parts to align before a major purchase.
Safe to say CT6 won’t be around for consideration.
LLK
It took Cadillac until November to actually make the CT6 available with the V8, and that’s after they announced they were killing it. That’s what stopped me.
Jacob
What stopped me is that I’m 22. I was aspiring to get in this car one day, I’m sad that it’ll be gone by then.
If I play my cards right I might find myself in a used on in a few years though.
Marc
I leased a 2017 CT6 Luxury with the 3.0TT and absolutely love the car with the exception of the jerky transmission and sunroof noise, neither of which the dealer could ever fix.
We really wanted to replace the 2017 with another when the lease comes up in September 2020. Unfortunately the 3.0TT is not offered in 2020’s and I can’t afford $100k for the Platinum or CT6-V. The Premium Luxury with the 3.6L is not a consideration. We already have a 2017 LaCrosse with that engine. I don’t want a duplicate of that and like the power the 3.0TT has.
The CT5 isn’t for me. The 2017 CT6 replaced a 2014 CTS and drives/rides so much better than the old CTS. Sure, I can buy a leftover 2019 CT6, but would prefer to lease and let someone else take the depreciation hit.